The following is a brief resumé of the state of Japan’s relations with
the countries that, in the opinion of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, are the
most important for the Japanese diplomacy.

Australia

(Commonwealth of Australia)

Since the end of the British-Japanese Alliance, the relations with this former British
colony have turned from good to distant: the Australian concern for the
Imperial Japanese Navy’s bases in Indonesia is mirrored by Japanese uneasiness
generated for Australian support for the U.S. diplomatic and military
intrusions in the region. The close economic relations between these two
countries have not ameliorated the growth of mutual distrust.

Brazil

(República Federativa do Brasil):

Brazil was the principal destination of the Japanese diaspora, and the
descendants of the early immigrants have become one of the most wealthy and
influential minorities in this South American nation. Therefore, there exists a
mutually beneficent cultural and commercial exchange between both countries,
and Japan’s relations with Brazil are more intimate and extended that with any
other Latinoamerican country: the region is totally immersed in the U.S.
influence and mistrust against Japan is rife. The paramount event in their
bilateral relations was the abrupt Brazilian financial crisisin
the year 2000, which forced many Nikkei-jin
(Brazilians of Japanese ancestry) to travel to Japan in search of jobs. The
Japanese government, wishing to stimulate such immigrants, has amended
immigration laws, and had arranged several assimilation programs.

Canada

(Dominion of Canada)

This country generally have a less extremist opinion of the Japanese
than the U. S., due to the long alliance between Britain and Japan; in
consequence, relations are relatively warm. In the last decade, there has been
an increment in joint investment, specially in mineral extraction operations,
and both governments maintain a productive security dialogue due to both
countries’ interest in the future of the Pacific archipelagos.

China

(Chung-hua Min-Kuo)

After the withdrawal of Japanese troops from China and the sign of the “Reconciliation and Friendship Treaty” in 1939, Japan and
China became allies in their opposition to Soviet encroachment of Chinese
territory (including the instalment of their Manzhouguo client state and the
outright annexation of Sinkiang). But either side had any illusion about this
alliance: both sides remembered too well the Second Sino-Japanese War, and many
Chinese blamed Japan for its territorial losses at the hands of the Communists.
Therefore, China looked for a ally outside Asia, and founded it in Germany:
both nations feared the Soviet Union and shared a long border with such
country. Since then, the German presence in China surpassed these of any other
country, and military cooperation between the two was one of the catalysers of
the Merdeka War.

Japan and China continued with their thorny relations along the 50s to
the 80s: China copied several of the reforms implanted in Japan in 1950, especially those in
the agricultural field, and both countries continued to share intelligence data
about Soviet military capabilities in the Far East. When in 1960 the Japanese
Empire granted independence to Taiwan, the Chinese government
warmly saluted the event, and mutual relations improved. (However, China has
not cessed to claim Taiwan as an “integral” part of the country).

Japan helped China to finance its military build-up and modernization as
a counterweight to the Soviets’ overwhelming advantage in land forces, and
Japanese private capital entered China for the first time since the 30s when
the Japanese company Sumitomo bought the Shanghai Banking Group in 1979. In the
80s, the improving Sino-Japanese relations known a stumble, when the Chinese
economic ties with Manzhouguo helped to alleviate its mutual animosity, and
China established diplomatic and economic relations with Korea. But none of
these events caused any crisis, and even in 1995, there were rumours about a
“Two Suns” alliance, a formal military alliance between Imperial Japan and KMT
China. But then, the Soviet Union started its long decomposition.

When in 1996 a low intensity civil war engulfed the U.S.S.R. and later
when the shaky Soviet government prove itself barely able to maintain a
semblance of order across the country, Mongolia and Manzhouguo found themselves
with a debilitated patron and facing a China that claim both countries as “long
lost provinces”. Until now, China has not made any aggressive move against any
of these countries, or the S.S.R. of Uighuristan (Sinkiang), only due to the
still intact Soviet nuclear deterrence and the control still exerted by Moscow in
Siberia and Uighuristan. Another reason is the Chinese unwillingness to damage
the economic and social structure of these countries, rather they favour an
“association” policy towards them. But the U.S.S.R is quite unstable, and maybe
it’s just a matter of time when Manzhouguo and Mongolia should confront China
alone.

Of course, the prospect of a Greater China right next to them has scared
the Japanese government, and they had openly support the Red Army forces in the
Far East and other unidentified Soviet military cabals in Siberia and the Far
East. Also, Japan has sent –officially for humanitarian reasons– Imperial Japanese Naval Infantry forces to help local Soviet
forces to keep control over Kamchatka and the Pacific coast of Siberia,
generating vehement protests of the Chinese and Korean governments, and the
Chinese press has returned to the “Japanese imperialists” rhetoric of the
thirties and forties, and has accused Japan of having intentions to keep
Kamchatka for itself and install a new “Far Eastern Republic” in the Maritime
Province, claims ardently denied by the Japanese government. Today, Tokyo
maintain a complex and problematic relation with Xian in spite of their growing
economic bounds.

Egypt

(al-Jumhuriya al-Arabiya al-Misriya)

Egypt is the most populous and influential of the Arab countries, and
the Japanese Foreign Ministry felt it was important to maintain relations with
this country. In the other hand, the Egyptians wanted a non-European partner in
several key industries (electrification, agriculture), to serve as a
counterweight for the overwhelming British presence in the country. Relations
between both powers are conducted mainly through the Koa-in, other aid agencies and private
firms.

Ethiopia

(Yatyiopia Manguist)

It was until 1991 when Japan established diplomatic relations with this
country, one of the “new” African nations. The Ethiopian Republic, former Italian
colony, has been the most favoured by Japan in terms of investment, loans and
technology transfer. Although Ethiopia, an impoverished, land-locked country,
has not much to offer to Japan, it serves as an “experimentation ground” for
Japanese diplomacy in Africa: through Addis Ababa Japan conduits its diplomacy
in sub-Saharan Africa, and has become another link between Japan and Italy.

France

(République Française)

When in 1943 the risk of war in Europe dissipated, the French could
direct more attention to colonial affairs, and Indochina became one of the more
bitter points of disagreement between Japan and France. The Japanese intents to
compensate the loss of her Manchurian and Korean markets, and its strong
relationship with Thailand, made a combination that didn’t pleased the French.
The French declared something close to an embargo to Japanese products in
Indochina, and in consequence the Japanese was forced to respond with support
to Thailand’s border revisionism. Bilateral relation were extremely cold until
1963, when the French was forced to grant independence to Vietnam. The French
influence in Indochina lasted until 1969, when Bao Dai was dethroned and the
military Junta in power asked the French armed forces to leave.

Since then, the Japanese and French political classes found several
points of coincidence: both are post-imperial powers that have managed to
retain great influence in its former colonies, and at the same time, can
maintain an overwhelming economical and political influence in a limited
geographical zone, and diplomatically both are relatively isolated. Besides,
both countries wanted to exploit the economic potential of their Pacific
colonies. So, after the Vietnamese regime change and the consequent expulsions
of France from Southeast Asia, the last obstacle in their relations
disappeared, and both countries had cooperated in several ways in the last
years, specially in economic and military enterprises. Among the latter can be
mentioned their joint development of the Otochi/Moineau missile platform, and their anti-ship
missile system, the Dauphin/Iruka.

Far
Eastern Republic

(Dalne Vostochnaja Respublika)

Until now, no country, not even Japan, has recognized this secessionist
movement. It claims the coastal and Amur valley provinces of the U.S.S.R. However,
the presence of Japanese troops in the Soviet Far East’s territory has given
other countries the opportunity to accuse Japan to try to arrange a
protectorate over the valuable Siberian coast and the strategic port of
Vladivostok, that serves as nominal capitol of the Far Eastern Republic and now
is occupied by Japanese troops.

Germany

(Republik Deutschland)

The political relations with this Great Power are unstable, since the Merdeka War. Then, many people in Germany pressed for war against
Japan, but fortunately cooler heads prevailed; and even when their diplomatic
and commercial relations were mended years ago, many Germans still resent the
Japanese attacks on German troops in that war and want nothing to do with
Japan. From Japan’s point of view, Germany’s long presence in China has represented an intrusion and
even a menace, and it served to soured the German-Japanese and Dutch-Japanese
relations to the point of war. Many Japanese think of Germany as just another
European imperialist nation who want to expand its influence into Asia in
detriment of Japanese interest.

But, in spite of public sentiments on both sides,
commercial relations are profuse and fruitful, and Japan maintain an extended
diplomatic and business presence in Germany, from where Japan extends it to the
East European countries over which Germany maintains a more or less benign
hegemony. It can be said that bilateral relations are distant but productive.
It is rumoured that, in the last two years, Germany and Japan had maintained a
confrontation in regards of the Soviet Union: they say Germany desires a
balkanised USSR in order to eliminate the Soviet menace and gain influence –or
even a protectorate– over the westernmost Soviet successor states. On the other
hand, they say Japan is trying desperately to keep the Soviet Union debilitated
but in one piece to serve as a counterweight to the growing power of China, and
while Japan supports the central government, Germany supports the separatist,
specially the Ukrainian guerrillas. These rumours had affected domestically
both governments.

Great
Britain

(United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)

The Anglo-Japanese Alliance lasted until 1970, year when
Malaysia gained independence and both countries decided to maintain more
limited and less formal alliances. Since then, both countries had enjoyed
friendly but not too close relations, the more productive are scientific and
economic cooperation agreements regarding their Pacific archipelagos. Since the
1980s, the warming in the British-U.S., relations has distanced both nations,
especially the fact that U.S. Navy ships visit with increasing frequency the
British naval bastion of Singapore. But this fact hasn’t affected the ongoing
cooperation projects in the remaining British Asiatic colonies and dominions:
agricultural projects in Myanmar, Special Forces training in Baluchistan,
experimentation in fish-breeding in the Maldives and Nauru, etc.

India

(Bharatavarsha)

Before the Japanese intervention in Sri Lanka, bilateral relations were quite
good, as India became the first decolonised Asiatic country, an event
celebrated by Japan as a death-blow to European colonialism. But, ever since,
relations with India had been clearly hostile, and the Japanese naval presence
in the Indian Ocean has been watched with preoccupation and anger by India,
unable to counter the Japanese in what they think is its natural sphere of
influence. The Indian government has taken the lead in the group of Asiatic
countries that criticises the Japanese economic pre-eminence in Asia and its
alleged military adventurerism, criticism that have found support in Korea and
Malaysia. In the last three years both countries had kept minimal contacts
about the creation of a Concert of Asia, but such contacts had proven unfruitful.

Indonesia

(Republik Indonesia)

Relations with Indonesia had been very close since the Merdeka War. Japan has proportioned the capital to
allow Indonesia to industrialize, and in exchange Indonesia has constituted a
trustworthy diplomatic and military ally and supplier of raw materials. The
economic and military bonds between them serve as the cornerstone of the
continued Japanese presence in the vital sea lanes of communication to the
Middle East. In recent years, Indonesia has taken a more independent posture,
and maintain contacts with Thailand that Japan fears could start a war in South
East Asia. Nonetheless, the rapprochement between Australia and the U.S. has
served as an insurance of a continued and strong Japanese presence in
Indonesia.

Iran

(Keshvaré Shahanshahiyé Irân)

The Pahlavi rulers of Iran has found in Japan a suitable partner: geographically
distant, affluent, technologically advanced, politically savvy and needy of a
Middle Eastern ally. Japan has found in Iran a resource rich, politically
stable, diplomatically isolated and strategically placed partner.

Their mutual relations, inexistent until 1962 (year when
the British quit their informal protectorate over Iran), has grown better and
better every year. Iran provide Japan not only with oil and gas: IJN ships
found a secure haven in Iran’s Persian Gulf naval bases, and serves as the
third point in its Indian Ocean naval strategy (the other two points are Sri
Lanka and Indonesia); also, Iran is the main buyer of Japanese armament. Japan
has served Iran as a quite useful diplomatic ally, helping her to resist U.S.
and Soviet bullying, as a model of a successful Imperial form of government,
and as a provider of commercial and military technology.

Another issue in which both countries agree is India: this regional
power, in spite of its domestic problems, surges as a troubling neighbour for
Iran, and Iran has wrested from Japan security insurances in exchange of
preferential oil and gas prices. Relations between Tokyo and Teheran are quite
good.

Italy

(Regno d’Italia)

Since the 1940s, relations with Italy has been polite but distant, and
this situation didn’t change until the 1990s. Since then, relations between
Rome and Tokyo have grow very close, specially in the cultural field, due to
the influence of Soletta Orihime. Soletta is a half-Japanese, half-Italian
young singer, who has popularised in both countries a new music genre known as
“Enka-rock”. Her success in the second half of the 90s in both countries has
suddenly reopened the eyes of the Japanese people to their old Anti-Comintern
Pact ally and vice versa, and a growing cultural exchange is taking place right
now.

In other issues, in the last decade Japan and Italy are
collaborating closely in investments in the recently independent African
countries, particularly in the former Italian colonies of Ethiopia, Somalia and
Eritrea, and in the Croatian and Albanian kingdoms. Therefore, the Japanese
Embassy in Rome is well staffed, principally with Cultural Affairs personnel.

Korea

(Choson Minchu-chui Konghwa-guk)

It is an understatement to describe the Korean-Japanese relations as “cold”. Not only there’s not
direct diplomatic relations since the Soviet-Japanese War, there exist also a technical
state of war between both countries, and unlike the relations with the Soviet
Union, the mutual antagonism have degenerated in very frequent naval clashes,
specially around Saishu island, claimed in its entirety by Korea. Other
Japanese islands claimed by Korea are the Matsushima and Takeshima islands. But
since the start of the Soviet Civil War in 1996, Seoul’s anti-Japanese rhetoric
had mellowed a bit, and the loss of its principal commercial partner has forced
Korea to seek Japanese help to lessen its economical downturn.

Malaysia

(Persekutuan Tanah Malaysia)

Japan’s close relation with Indonesia has hindered Japanese relations
with Malaysia. Since its independence, Indonesia has expressed its Pan-Malayan
ideology, and claim Malaysia as part of a “Greater Indonesia”. This, and the
Malayan-Indonesian naval clashes in the waters around the Natuna and Spratley
islands had turned, in the common Malaysian citizen’s mind, the Japanese as
their main enemy after the Indonesians. Therefore, relations between Kuala
Lumpur and Tokyo are extremely cold. The recent military contacts between
Malaysia, Australia and the U.S. has just worsened bilateral relations.

Manzhouguo

(Manzhou Jen Min Kung-Ho Guo)

After Japan was expulsed from Manchukuo, the Soviet Union abolished the previous
authoritarian Manchukuan government and it its place implanted a totalitarian Communist country. Since then, the
Manzhouguan government has kept a decidedly anti-Japanese stance, exacerbated
by the Japanese refusal to send former Manchukuan Emperor Pu Yi back to
Manchuria for trial in the 1950s. Bilateral relations were almost inexistent,
generally conducted through the Soviet embassies, and only a handful of Japanese
and Manzhouguans had visited each other country in the last fifty years. As
long as China kept its militant anti-Communist position, Japan didn’t care to
mend its relations with Manzhouguo: after all, the Manzhouguan government
maintained economic relations almost exclusively with the Soviet Union, and
therefore there were inexistent opportunities of investment.

However, when the Manzhouguan government renounced to its isolationism and
began to open to the outer world, Japan showed some interest in improve
bilateral relations. Diplomatic relations were established in 1993 and a
minimal economic exchange began. Probably this situation would continued in
that way if only the Soviet Union would have not fall into a low-level civil
war. Since then, Manzhouguo faces the possibility of a forcible union with
China, and had desperately searched for foreign backers. The Japanese
government is eager to help, but fifty years of anti-Japanese and
anti-communist rhetoric and war’s bitter memories stand in the way. Until now,
the only way both countries had cooperated is the common effort to keep the
Trans-Siberian railroad open, allowing the Soviet Union’s central government to
maintain a secure contact with the rest of the world.

Mongolia

(Bughut Nairamdakh Mongol Arat Ulus)

Since the Soviet-Japanese War, relations with Mongolia were even more
distant than with Manzhouguo, actually there wasn’t any contact between Tokyo
and Ulan Baator in all those years. It was until 1997, when was obvious that
the Soviet Union ceased to exist as a functional state, that the Mongolian and
Japanese government re-established diplomatic relations. Unlike Manzhouguo,
Mongolia ceased entirely its anti-Japanese rhetoric in the 1950s, and
therefore, it was much easier to resume bilateral relations. Both countries has
cooperated with Manzhouguo to keep open the Trans-Siberian railroad, and
Japanese companies had developed a growing interest in Mongolian natural
resources and cheap manpower. The Chinese menace to Mongolian independence is,
for Ulan Baator, a powerful motive to look for stronger ties with the outside
world in general and with Japan in particular.

Myanmar

(Pyee-Daung-Su
Myanma-Nainggan-Daw)

The Union of Myanmar, part of the British Commonwealth, maintains a relatively
distant relationship with Japan, due to the heavy Indian influence in its
economy and internal policies, that limits its contacts with Japan, India’s
naval rival in the Indian Ocean. However, the Japanese government, mainly through the Koa-in, maintains an important
influence in Myanmar’s rural development, and several Japanese firms has
invested with some success in the local agricultural market.

Philippines

(Republika ñg Pilipinas)

Since its independence in 1947, the Philippines maintain a highly
unstable relation with Japan. To the present day, the Philippines are nothing
but a U.S. client state, hosting powerful U.S. aeronaval bases and blindly
follows the U.S. diplomatic and economic lead, a situation that had turned the
Filipino government unpopular among several Asian countries, and the most
resolute critic of these situation is Japan. Its resistance against the U.S.
intrusion in Asian affairs and bullying has gained Japan the sympathies of
Filipino nationalist, and in the 1980s, when the U.S. grip over the country
alleviated to some extent, the Philippines and Japan conducted several joint
economic projects.

On the other hand, the Japanese military doctrine, that
call for the neutralization, by any means necessary, of the U.S. bases
in the Philippines in case of war with the former country; the unconditional
Japanese support to Indonesia, which maintain an ideological and border dispute
with the Philippines; and the U.S. interference in Southeast Asia serve as an
obstacle for better bilateral relations.

Union
of Soviet Socialist Republics

(Sojus Sovietskij
Sotsialisticheskij Respublik)

After the Soviet-Japanese War, direct diplomatic relations between
both countries were inexistent until the year 1965, when their were re-established.
However, both countries remained in a technical state of war due to their
territorial dispute concerning northern Karafuto. In the first two decades after the war, the
Soviet Union was the main security concern of Japan: their relationship
improved after the 1963 “Second Russian Revolution” (or “Soft Revolution”), and
their divergent military doctrines served to defuse tensions. Nonetheless, they
kept their military rivalry until 1996, when the Soviet state nearly collapsed
and a low intensity civil war started. In order to avoid the Soviet Civil War
to spill out of the Soviet borders, the Japanese government ordered the Imperial Japanese Naval Infantry to establish a Security
Zone, in combination with local Soviet commanders, which included the entire
Sea of Okhotsk coast and the southern half of the Kamchatka peninsula. However,
there were numerous Soviet factions that has found foreign backers, including
Japan. Until now, the Japanese government haven’t made public if is supporting
any faction or factions besides the Central government.

The Soviet central government still keeps control over most of the
Soviet territory, principally urban centres; the rural zones of Ukraine and the
Central Asian republics host several separatist guerrillas, while in Russia proper
the Red Army fights several political factions and terrorist groups. In recent
years, the main features of the new regime are their loyalty to the principles
of the “Second Russian Revolution”, the determination to regain control over
the entire Soviet Union and their sinophobia. Even when the former two would be
enough to keep Japan sceptic about a close relationship, the increasing
boldness of the U.S. foreign policy, the dangerously unstable Soviet nuclear
deterrence, and the prospect of a Greater China including not only Manzhouguo
and Mongolia, but Siberia as well forced Tokyo to look for ways to stabilize
the U.S.S.R. and then convince the Soviets to align itself with the East Asian
Security Treaty. Besides Japan, only Mongolia and Manzhouguo keeps pro-Soviet
forces in Soviet territory in behalf of the central government, and Japan is
pressing Taiwan, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Iran to do the same.

Sri
Lanka

(Sri Lanka Sarkar)

The relation with Sri Lanka is similar to the relation with Iran. Sri
Lanka proportioned Japan with naval facilities in their port of Trincomalee in
exchange of a security arrangement: Indian chauvinist ideologues dub Sri Lanka
as a “renegade territory”, and the mere existence of an independent Sri Lankan
state is an affront to them. The only way to deter India to renew its aggression are the several regiments of IJNI
troops present in the island. Besides their mutual security concerns, Sri Lanka
and Japan maintain excellent cultural relations and a growing commercial
exchange, and an important research project in rice genetic manipulation. Also,
Sri Lanka has applied for membership in the East Asia Security Treaty,
solicitude that is being studied in Tokyo, Taipei and Yakarta.

Taiwan

(Taiwan-Hua Min)

Taiwan is the country who maintain the most intimate relation with
Japan. This former Japanese colony maintain unconditional
political and military alliances with its former metropolis, and even when
petty disputes (as migratory and economic policies) appear from time to time,
nothing has altered the excellent bilateral relations between both nations.

Thailand

(Muang Thai)

The military contacts, economic bounds and economic ties with Thailand
has increased considerably since the 40s. In those years both nations
maintained friendly if distant relations, but Thailand watched carefully the reforms enacted by the Imperial Rule Committee in order to survive the
after-effects of the Soviet-Japanese War and the entirely new international and
domestic situation. Japan was adopted as a suitable model by Thailand, that
implanted its own limited reforms. In spite of their distant relations, many
foreign policy experts in Japan accurately predicted the future necessity to
gain a foothold in this promissory nation, and in consequence, both countries
initiate a modest rapprochement in the 1950s, aimed to maximize the
productivity of the Thai rice field and its exportation to Japan. Bilateral
relations showed a steady grow until the 1960s, when first the Merdeka War, then the alliance between Indonesia and
Japan forced Thailand to reconsider its relations with Japan and with the rest
of the region. However, Thailand and Japan cooperated in supporting the
Cambodian and Laotian independence guerrillas against the Vietnamese Empire.

After the Vietnamese independence, Thailand revived its territorial
dispute with this country, and in 1972 they declared war on Vietnam. The war raged
for a year without a clear winner, and in 1973 Japan brokered first an
armistice and in 1980 a definitive peace treaty. The Thai territorial gains in
the peace accord (the Lao provinces of Sayabouri, opposite Luang Prabang in the
north, and Champassak, opposite Pakse in the south; and the Cambodian provinces
of Battambang, Sisophon, and Siem Reap) served to improve the image of Japan in
Thailand and since then, both countries had prosecuted joint commercial
ventures and kept a clearly anti-Malaysian position.

In the last four year, Japan and Thailand had conducting talks aimed to
the latter’s entry into the East Asia Security Treaty (Japan, Taiwan and
Indonesia): Thailand entry would represent a complete change in the
geopolitical scenario of South East Asia in Japan’s favour, and will serve as a
counterweight not only against a possible Sino-Vietnamese alliance but also
against the incipient Australia-Malaysia-U.S. alliance. Unfortunately, the Thai
government insist in demanding support for its ongoing border dispute with
Malaysia (Thailand claims the northern Malay states of Kedah, Perlis,
Trengganu, and Kelantan), a demand that hasn’t found much support in Japan. In
consequence, Thailand is conducting its own secret negotiations with Indonesia:
the Japanese government fears that a war between Malaysia and a Thai-Indonesian
alliance could degenerate in a general war in South East Asia, and worse,
involve the U.S. In consequence, the bilateral relations in this moment are
quite tense.

United
States

The anti-Japanism manifested by the U.S. can be traced to the racism
systematically played up in newspapers owned by newspaper magnate William
Randolph Hearst, around 1906. Hearst urged the reinforcement of U.S. naval
power to counter Japan: he backed Congressman Richmond P. Hobson, a Captain in
the naval reserves and a hero of the Spanish-U.S. War, in a tour all over the
United States to advocate anti-Japanism and promoting Japanophobia. Between
1910s and 1920s, many anti-Japan book included Banzai by F.H. Gautoff, The
Battle for the Pacific by Rowan Stevens, and The Valor of Ignorance
by Homer Lea, the latter attracting the most attention by its racial overtone.

Since then, periodically the U.S. has created crises with Japan. The
writings of Rear Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan (specially “The Open Door Policy”,
which became a bible of U.S. diplomacy); the “Yellow Peril” myth propagated by
the Germans; the start of the Great War and the Japanese occupation and
annexation of the German Pacific Islands north of the equator in 1914;
successive supporters of U.S. military build-ups; the mirage of the Chinese
market (that never live up to Japan or U.S. expectations and only deepened the
confrontation between the two countries); the pro-China lobby in Washington; and
the pro-Communist elements in the successive U.S. governments; all those
factors resulted in the apparition of a “Mirror Effect”: the tendency to
escalate criticism by repeating mutual overreactions of those criticisms
resulting from poor understanding between the two countries.

The newest example is the recent (December 2002) Taiwanese-U.S. standoff on
the Tungsha-Tao Islands. In order to strengthen its position in the
Philippines, Malaysia and Australia, the U.S.
constantly send ships and planes over trying to provoke an encounter. Until
now, the members of the East Asia Security Treaty (Japan, Taiwan and Indonesia)
has made absolutely clear that his generals and admirals must specifically
state every single month that their units will not attack unidentified contacts
nor targets including “visiting U.S. vessels’. No matter what the U.S. does to
provoke an incident that could serve as a pretext to augment its regional
forces, Japan will not bite, and its commanders will not make errors permitting
“accidents” or “incidents”. Bilateral relation are tense, as they have been the
last hundred years.

Vietnam

After the French granted independence to Vietnam in 1963, the relations
between Hanoi and Tokyo were very strained: the almost absolute Emperor Bao
Dai’s dependence from Paris, the leasing of the Da Nang and Cam Rah ports to
the French Navy, the good relations with Bangkok, and the application of the “Fukuzawa Doctrine” in support of the independence of the
Laotian and Cambodian populations (specially in the form of funds and weapons)
made bilateral relations almost inexistent.

However, after the fall of Bao Dai in 1969 and the instauration of an
extremely Francophobe military junta, relations between both nations had
improved, mostly their economic relationship. However, the apparent Japanese
support to Thailand in the negotiations that ended the Thai-Vietnamese War, the sympathy felt by many Japanese
for the oppressed Laotians and Cambodians, the fund-raising activities
conducted by pro-independence activist in Japan, the growing weakness of the
Vietnamese government and the resultant Vietnamese rapprochement with China
keep relations distant.